MONDAY
September 6
The Beauty of Diversity
The McDonald's restaurant chain has tens of thousands of restaurants
worldwide. Whether in Pakistan or in the U.S.A., in Hungary or in South
Africa, you will fmd the golden arches. And you can be sure the prod-
uct is always the same. The burgers will always have the same size and
weight, and the milk shakes always come in three tastes and in the same
size cups. Some might call this unity. But this kind of similarity has
nothing to do with real unity; instead, this is uniformity, and there's an
important distinction between the two. In our thinking about the unity of
the church, we must be careful not to confuse uniformity with unity.
What
are some of the characteristics of the unity that the church
ought to display? What is emphasized, and what is not mentioned?
John 10:16; 17:11, 21; Eph. 4:3, 13; Phil. 2:2.
"The secret of true unity in the church and in the family is not
diplomacy, not management, not a superhuman effort to overcome
difficulties—though there will be much of this to do—but union with
Christ."—Ellen G. White,
The Adventist Home,
p. 179.
Ellen White's words, in the context of the texts listed above, are so
crucial to an understanding of unity. We can come from different eth-
nic, national, religious, and economic backgrounds, but at the foot of
the cross, we are all the same: sinners in need of God's grace.
And yet, the hand is not the foot, the foot is not the eye, and the eye
is not the heart; all are different—all have different compositions, dif-
ferent functions, different roles. If the eyes demanded that the heart
be like them, the body would soon be dead; if the heart demanded that
the eyes be like them, the body would be blind.
Thus, because our church is so different—composed of various
national, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, many of which have
clashed over these differences—our unity must be found in something
that, while not denying these differences, transcends them. And for us
as Adventists, that must be Jesus Christ and the common mission He
has given to us. This side of heaven national, ethic, and political dif-
ferences will remain; but as Adventist Christians, with a common
Savior, a common mission, a common message, we should seek,
through God's grace, never to allow these things to disrupt the unity
that God seeks for His church. Admittedly, this isn't always easy. But
if we are called to love our enemies, we certainly should be able to
love fellow church members, should we not?
If any ethnic, national, or political issues are dividing your
church, what can you do to pull people to the Cross, the only
true solution to the problem?
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